Highlights

  • Liverpool have stance is clear on Mohamed Salah, but Al-Ittihad are still trying to convince them with a delegation in London
  • Man Utd now set to hold internal talks over Jadon Sancho with one outcome likely
  • One star could complete £7m move to Saudi Arabia though

The Saudi top-flight window shuts on September 7 and we might see a flurry of late movement over the coming days.

Will Mo Salah move to Saudi Arabia?

The big story has been whether Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah will move to Saudi champions Al-Ittihad. Liverpool have been crystal clear in their stance that Salah is not for sale, but Al-Ittihad still really want to try and currently have a delegation in London, where Liverpool also have an office.

Al-Ittihad would love to have Salah play in this year’s Club World Cup in Jeddah. And there is urgency on their part because there's no guarantee they will be the allocated club for Salah in 2024. Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are also possibilities. If Salah doesn't go now there's a strong chance he ends up in Saudi in 12 months time.

Some of the numbers reported sound crazy and too good for Liverpool to turn down, but a package of around £200m wouldn't all be 'gettable'. Some of the add-ons I am told are tied to Club World Cup success. It will be very unexpected if Salah does end up leaving now and he is not in any way forcing a move.

Who could Jadon Sancho sign for?

Jadon Sancho is another name being surprisingly linked with a move to Saudi after his fallout with Erik ten Hag. I still expect Manchester United to deal with the matter internally during the international break and smooth things over.

Al-Ittihad and Al-Shabab are the two most active clubs. Both have been linked with Sancho, but deal-makers are distancing themselves from a late swoop.

Sancho wants to fight for his Manchester United place and only a big offer, in excess of £75m, might change that in Manchester United's eyes. But even if one came in that satisfied the club, I still don't expect Sancho to be tempted - transfer guru Fabrizio Romano also issued an important update on the player's future to GIVEMESPORT earlier this month.

Spurs and Villa discussed Sancho this summer, and Chelsea considered him before signing Cole Palmer from Manchester City. But Manchester United were never desperate to sell. I don't see the fall-out with ten Hag changing that. If anything Sancho may return to training with a point to prove and that could benefit all parties.

Will Demarai Gray move to Saudi Arabia?

A player who is set to move to Saudi is Demarai Gray who is really unhappy at Everton. He was Al-Ettifaq’s top target and heading into the weekend a deal for around £7m was really close. But on Saturday night Everton told Steven Gerrard's Dammam-based side they don't want to sell. Gray was surprised at this and issued a statement saying he feels disrespected at the club. He was still pushing for the Saudi move and looks to have got his wish.

Al-Ettifaq didn't have time to wait for Everton to change their mind and they got an agreement for Gray, who was still pushing to leave, over the line on Tuesday before they would have been forced to move on to other targets.